Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has slammed the European Union’s decision to blacklist the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization.

“Issuing a statement against Lebanon’s Hezbollah and placing its military wing on the list of terrorist groups …only strengthens the pillars of Hezbollah, ” the Iranian minister said on the sidelines of the International Quds Day demonstration in Tehran on Friday.

“Over the past several years, Hezbollah has inflicted the most damages on the occupier regime[of Israel], therefore it is natural that the Zionist regime[of Israel] and its supporters commit such an act, ” Vahidi said.

On June 22, the 28 - nation bloc unanimously decided to put Hezbollah’s military wing on the EU blacklist. The Lebanese movement rejected the move as “aggressive” and “unjust. ” The Iranian minister said millions of Muslims around the world commemorate the International Quds Day to support the Palestinian nation.

“The enemies of Islam must take the unity of the Muslim world seriously and respect it, ” Vahidi said, adding, “The Muslim world defends the … Muslim nation of Palestine by participating in the International Quds Day[rallies]. ”

On Friday, millions of Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets nationwide to voice their solidarity with the Palestinian nation and express their anger at the policies of the Tel Aviv regime and its allies. People in more than 80 other countries have also observed the event. In August 1979, the late founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as International Quds Day, calling on Muslims across the world to mark the annual occasion by holding street rallies. Millions of people around the world take to the streets on this day in a show of support for the people of Palestine, demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.